Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I ordered this case because 1) I needed a case fast, 2) it was cheap, and 3) it has good reviews. Usually, trusting Amazon reviews works out for me... but not in this case (heh, case). Look, plenty of people have said (and will continue to say) this case is great for the price. I'd probably have to agree with that. I paid $12 and I got a functional case. But great for the price in this case does not mean great for the quality. This is a hunk of plastic, not much more. I would be doing a disservice to Amazon customers by excusing this case's shortcomings just because the price is low, so I'm giving this product an honest review. The short version is "Yes, this is decent for $12." The long version is below. First off, disregard the pictures from the product page. They are misleading and give little indication as to what your phone will look like in this case. The pictures of the empty case are shot as if intense light is shining through it. The case will never look that white or silver. It is a smoky gray color. Your phone will appear gray in this case. The back of the case has rough lines that bugged me after just a few hours of use. These lines feel unfinished. That's what you get for $12 (or whatever the going rate may be now). From a tactile perspective, the case offered less grip than I felt safe with. It is better than no case at all, but still a bit slippery. The plastic does not appear able to absorb much impact, so I would rate protection minimal, although I definitely wasn't going to test that out. It is lightweight, so it has that going for it. The thin section of the case that runs across the bottom of the phone (under the home button) is a design mistake. It doesn't fit snugly, and you can manipulate it easily (pull it back and forth - it's like a tight rubber band). This was right out of the packaging - I can't imagine how much looser it will get after being used for several weeks. If you accidentally snag it, it will stretch, and it will never regain its form. On the plus side, if you want to hang your phone from your keychain, this would be a great way to do that. The main issue I had with the case, though, has been mentioned before: once you put the phone in the case, it's next to impossible to get the phone back out. This defies all logic considering that within 12 hours of putting this case on my phone, I had debris inside the case (which I could see through the translucent plastic). I cleaned both the phone and the case before shoehorning the case onto the phone, and hours later, I could see stuff in the case. How can a case simultaneously let debris in so fast, yet be nearly impossible to remove? It's a sceintific conundrum. What sealed this as a two-star product for me was the fact that in order to remove the case, I had to damage it. In trying to remove the case to clean the phone, I had to pull on the aforementioned rubber band-like strip of plastic along the bottom, and it stretched. It's now in the shape of an arch, and looks a bit like a handle. I could never use the case again and be able to put the phone in my pocket. It's forever warped. Glad it was only $12. Bottom line: I gave this product 2 stars in light of the fact that after owning it for only one day, it is now unusable, and I really didn't like it that much to begin with. I found a case from another manufacturer that cost twice as much and did everything better, and it was well worth it. This is an inexpensive case, and its performance is commensurate with its price. It is not a good case at a cheap price. I hate the saying "you get what you pay for," but it totally applies here.